Lydia wrote in to share an interesting looking kids’ site. KidzClix is a subscription-based educational kids’ site with new options monthly. It’s one I’m not familiar with, so I will follow my normal procedure of researching it well, then taking it for a test drive for the free “issue” they offer. After that, I will then subscribe for at least a month and bring in my team of experts to co-consult with me – my grandchildren of all ages . When I am done, I will write a review of the site to share with all of you. In the meantime, I would value your input as well. If anyone else has used it, please write me at Kaye@SandwichINK.com or leave a comment below. Lydia, I would love it if you would write again and let us know what your favorite sections are.

While we are on the subject of reviews and new sites, it’s a good opportunity to remind us all that it is vital to practice safe surfing, especially when our children and grandchildren are going to use a site. Whenever I hear of a new kids’ site, even if it’s recommended by a trusted source, I always test drive it before turning my grandkids loose on it. Some of the many things to be aware of are:

Inappropriate ads

Too many ads

Inappropriate content

Age-appropriate content

Options for children to be contacted by strangers

There are probably other items to be watching for as well. What do you look for when you check out a site for safe surfing for grandkids? Do write and share those tips with us as well. Also, if you have other sites you want to share and/or want us to research, jot us a note. I already have three other sites I will be researching and reviewing over the next couple of months. The more the merrier!

Younger (and sometimes even not-so-younger) grandkids coming over? How fun! Time to make sure our house is kid-friendly and safe. You know, make sure all medicines are up high, no unsafe cleaning liquids are easily accessible to little ones, and the computer is set up for safe surfing. The computer? Yup. We grandparents of the internet age need to come along side our children in providing a safe environment for our grandchildren to surf the web. How do we do that?

1. Password protect all computers so that they have to check in with you before using one.

2. Make sure the computers they use are in an open area where you can supervise easily. If this is not possible, stay with them whenever they are using the internet. This is to supervise, assist them in surfing, and protect your computer.

3. Set up a User Account just for the grandkids.

4. Set the Screensaver on all accounts to turn on after 2-3 minutes and require a password to log back in. That way, if you forget to switch it to their account, it will help “remind you.”

5. Set up the homepage for a child-friendly page. My grandkids love Webkinz so I usually use that as the homepage. I’ve also used Crosswalk.com, Noggin.com, and Kid Explorers – http://budurl.com/KidExplorersMain .

6. Go to Google.com – www.google.com – go to the preferences, SafeSearch Filtering, and select strict filtering. This doesn’t give a lot of protection, but it does offer some – it “blocks web pages containing explicit sexual content, text and images, from appearing in search results.” It does, however, allow plenty of other inappropriate content through so be aware of that.

7. Bookmark several kid-safe sites for the grandkids to use for searching, research, etc. Some sites that look like good resources include:

AOL’s Homework Help for older kids – http://budurl.com/AOLHomeworkHelp

AOL’s Homework Help Jr. for younger kids – http://budurl.com/AOLHomeworkHelpJr

CyberSleuth Kids – http://budurl.com/CybersleuthKids

FactMonster – http://budurl.com/FactMonster

Kids’ Search Tools by Ramapo Catskill Library System – http://budurl.com/KidsSearchTools

Oswego City Schools’ Search Site – http://budurl.com/OswegoSchoolSearch

Quintura Kids – http://budurl.com/QuinturaKids

Tekmom’s Search Tools for Kids – http://budurl.com/TekMomsSearchTools

IMPORTANT CAVEAT – Everything on the web is subject to change with little or no notice. In addition, a child can start on a safe site and then be taken to an unsafe, inappropriate site. It’s important for each of us to check each site before sharing them with our grandchildren, and keep checking them regularly. This is another good reason to have the computer in an area that’s easy to supervise.

8. If you really want to make a totally enclosed safe environment, you can try a software like NetNanny or Norton’s SystemWorks with parental controls. I use Norton’s software for my firewall and antivirus protection, but the parental controls seemed to block everything so I turned it off. I haven’t tried anything else yet, preferring to stick with close supervision. So far that is working fine. When it doesn’t, I will be researching further and keep you all posted as well.

9. If you have any suggestions, tips, ideas, software products, or sites to recommend, please leave a comment below, or write me at Kaye@SandwichINK.com . I’d love to keep adding to this list.

If you need specific directions for any of these ideas, please write me about that as well. I will email them to you, or if there is enough interest, I will post them on this site.